It will be Giants-Redskins in Landover, Md., and Cowboys at Jets when the locals open the 2011 NFL season on the 10-year anniversary of 9/11. But Carol Gies and her sons Tommy, Ronnie and Bobby will be in Citi Field for Cubs-Mets.

Because they were in the stands that historic, emotional night at Shea when sports, and baseball, came back to New York and Mike Piazza hit the game-winning, two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning that made a devastated city remember what it was like to cheer again. Because they were in the dugout after the Mets beat the Braves when Piazza handed his wristbands to the Gies boys.

Ten days earlier, they had lost their father Ronnie, a firefighter for Maspeth Squad 288, on 9/11.

“This icon of a man just did this most amazing thing,” Carol Gies remembers thinking, “that got such joy out of people. I saw my children smile for the first time.”

“You have to remember that a lot of people did not want us to play the game,” Brooklyn’s John Franco recalled. “If we didn’t play that evening, we would have given in to the terrorists. As I look back, it was more than just a game, it was an event that proved to the city and the country that we could move on.”

The Gies family was sitting two rows off the field even with third base.

“You never thought somebody could change the way the city felt just by hitting a home run,” Ronnie Gies said.

In and around the dugout afterward, Carol Gies remembers Piazza expressing his condolences. Then he turned to the boys, who were 18, 16 and 13 at the time, and said, “Your father was a hero.”

“Then,” Carol Gies recalled, “he looked around, and not knowing what to do, said: ‘Can I give you guys these?’ And handing my boys his wristbands that he wore when he it that home run. To me, that was just an amazing, amazing moment.”

Bobby still has those wristbands.

“It absolutely meant a lot after such an impact on my life,” Bobby said.

Tommy (Ladder 147, Flatbush) and Ronnie (Ladder 175, East New York) are firemen today, and Bobby soon will become one. “I wanted to be a fireman since the day I was old enough to realize what my father did,” Tommy said.

“I was fortunate in my career to hit a lot of home runs,” Piazza said this week. “But, people always remember that one. I’ll never forget the feeling of sitting with those families after the game.”

Says Carol Gies: “I would love to someday speak to him and ask him if he remembers meeting my kids and giving them his wristbands.”

LeGrand interview

Bruce Beck tonight on “Mike’d Up” on NBC will conduct the first in-studio interview with former Rutgers football player Eric LeGrand, who was paralyzed from the neck down in the Army game six months ago.

“I have to do a good job of not getting emotional, trying to get the best out of him, but he’s so positive, and he has such a great attitude — this word ‘believe’ is in his vocabulary. He truly thinks some day he will walk again,” Beck told The Rumble. “I’m going to ask him if he ever felt like, ‘Why me?’ I’m going to ask him about does he still believe, what makes him want to believe, and when he started to believe. But bottom line is, yeah, it’s a little bit different than interviewing Gretzky or Jordan or A-Rod. This is not a superstar athlete, it’s someone who has a story, and I’m trying to treat the story fairly.”

Beck will show a clip of the horrifying accident as part of his setup piece.

Beck himself has been moved and inspired chronicling LeGrand’s determination during rehab sessions and expects viewers to be, as well.

“I want them to meet this kid, who is a special young man, and I think it will be conveyed on the air,” Beck said.

Mariano & Sons

Mariano Rivera was thrilled having sons Mariano, Jr. and Jafet accompany him on a recent road trip to Toronto. The sons dressed at their father’s locker, were on the field during batting practice shagging fly balls and Mariano, Jr. served as a Yankees bat boy Tuesday night against the Blue Jays.

“It’s great to be able to have the boys here with me,” Rivera said. “They get to experience what I do. It’s a blessing for me to be able to be with my family. I have to thank the manager [Joe Girardi] and the organization.”

Trading for dollars

BTIG’s annual Commissions for Charity Day which will be held this Wednesday. The event in which A-list celebrities from worlds of sports, entertainment and finance place trades and donate the commissions to charity, has raised more than $15 million over the last eight years for children’s charities.

BTIG co-founder Steve Starker, Kenny Dichter, a co-founder of Marquis Jet, and Doug Ellin, the creator of the HBO hit series “Entourage,” are partners in a group that is among the finalists to purchase a minority stake in the Mets. But Wednesday is about charity. Steve Lavin, Joe Namath, Michael J. Fox and supermodel Brooklyn Decker are expected to make transactions on the trading floor.

The Pack picks . . .

Dan Lauria (“Lombardi” on Broadway) will make the fifth-round selection (in character) for the Packers next Saturday. The indefatigable Lauria can be seen in the upcoming movie “Water For Elephants,” is finishing doing the audio version of Rex Ryan’s upcoming book, and is the narrator in “The Second Day,” a documentary about children of lower Manhattan and their experiences around 9/11 which is directed by 14-year-old Brock Peters and will be shown at the Tribeca Film Festival.

The Post’s Lenn Robbins receives the MBWA/Mike Cohen “Good Guy” Award Tuesday night in Tarrytown. . . . Under Armour will select 12 winners to attend the NFL Draft and participate in a Q&A (via Facebook) with Tom Brady on Friday. Boomer Esiason will be moderating the chat.